FAST to retain power after Samoan election victory confirmed

The incumbent Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party has been declared the winner of the Samoa national election.

FAST won 30 of the 50 seats contested, according to the official results released by the Samoan electoral commission on Friday. However, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, the party’s former leader, will step down in the place of Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt, who took over earlier this year.

14 seats were held by the main opposition, the Human Rights Protection Party. Four more independent candidates were chosen.

Only three seats, including her own, were won by Fiame’s Samoa Uniting Party, which was founded earlier this year. In January, a factional dispute led to her expulsion from FAST.

In the nation of about 220 000 people, rising prices were identified as a pressing issue for voters.

Residents of Apia, the capital of Samoa, had informed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that they wanted the next government to concentrate on the economy and jobs prior to the election on August 29.

Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, the head of state of Samoa, had issued a warrant confirming the names of the new members of the next parliament.

Seats have been won by five women. At least six women must be in parliament, according to the Samoa Observer, which would require the creation of an additional seat in accordance with a 10% minimum representation requirement.

In 2021, Fiame won the election that removed Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi from power after 22 years, making her the country’s first female leader.

She hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting last year, which was focused on the Pacific’s impact, to raise the profile of the country internationally.